1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to machines used in the processing of integrated circuit chips, and more particularly to devices for removing integrated circuit chips from their flexible carrier substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Integrated circuit chips are small sections of semiconductive material (such as silicon) upon which many active and/or passive electronic components have been formed. The manufacture of an integrated circuit chip includes steps of processing a semiconductor wafer to provide multiples of the desired chip, and then cutting the wafer into individual integrated circuit chips arranged in rows and columns.
Before the wafer is cut, it is adhesively attached to flexible carrier to prevent the dispersal of the chips during the cutting process. A problem encountered in the prior art is how to efficiently remove the individual chips from the flexible carrier without damaging the chips. In the past, the carrier has been stretched onto a frame, and a blunt tipped pin was pressed against the underside of the carrier to raise an individual chip above the surface level of the remainder of the chips. Tweezers were then used to remove the individual chips from the carrier. This method is not only time consuming and labor intensive, but also results in the damage of many of the chips due their manual handling.